Santa Fe High basketball boys remain second in District 5-5A

It was a double dip Tuesday night for the Capital basketball teams, the girls losing at home to Albuquerque High in District 5-5A and the boys at the Bulldogs in Albuquerque.

But Santa Fe High settled for a split in the same district, its boys falling to Los Lunas at home and the girls winning at the Tigers.

For Pecos, it was a sweep at home over Tucumcari, for Monte del Sol it was a split versus Albuquerque’s Native American Community Academy, while the St. Michael’s surging boys won their fifth in a row at Santa Fe Prep, 61-35, to avenge the previous first-ever loss to the Griffins.

After going 0-10 and with head coach Dave Rodriguez remaining on administrative leave, the Horsemen under long-time assistant coach Gerard Garcia are now 7-12 overall and 4-2 in District 2-3A. Prep is now 7-12 overall and 3-4 in district.

At the Jaguars the Capital girls fell to Albuquerque High, 61-26, to drop to 6-16 overall and 3-3 in district, while the Bulldogs became 15-6 overall and unbeaten in seven district starts. The Capital boys are now 10-11 overall and 1-4 in district following the 53-40 setback in Albuquerque (8-13, 3-4).

Santa Fe High took a tough loss at Toby Roybal Memorial gymnasium, 68-62, to the district-leading Los Lunas and dropped to 17-4 overall and 4-2 in district as the Tigers took a firm hold on the top spot.

As for the Demonetttes, they hit the road to Los Lunas and brought back a 48-30 victory to improve to 13-8 overall and 4-2 in district while the Tigers are now 4-3 in district 6-16 overall.

At the Albuquerque Temple Baptist court, Monte del Sol’s boys handily dominated Native American Community Academy, 82-25, and the Dragons became 6-8 overall and 2-3 in district as they prepare for Thursday’s doubleheader at Academy of Technology and The Classics after they were unable to play at AIA that day. The same with the Friday game at Albuquerque Menaul.

In the girls game, it was the Eagles getting past Monte del Sol, 46-42, and the Dragons fell to 3-13 overall and 1-4 in district. MDS led 6-4 after one quarter and then trailing 22-14 at halftime, tied 33-33 after three quarters, and were outscored 13-9 over the final eight minutes. Senior Daisy Ortiz turned in the team-high 17 points for the Dragons and senior teammate Alacell Pena addd 14.

The Monte del Sol boys led big from the outset and head coach Ralph Casaus was happy with that.

“We got everybody into the game,” he said, “and were able to work on our offense and defense. Our high-scoring junior Kevin Enriquez scored 22, junior Xandro Zubia 18 and senior Ivan Morales 17.”

Pecos rolled past Tucumcari, 69-41, in the boys game and 54-40 in the opening girls contest. The Panther boys are 15-6 overall and the girls are 8-11.

Academy of Technology and The Classics, now ATATC, lost twice at Albuquerque Menaul, the girls in a tight one, 44-40, and the boys getting rolled over 84-39. The Phoenix boys were in a quick no contest mold by falling behind 21-9 after one quarter and 41-25 at intermission as the Panthers upped their overall mark to 15-3 and put them at 6-0 in district. ATATC became 11-9 overall and is 3-3 in district.

As for the Phoenix girls, their overall record now stands at 13-6, and in district they are 4-2.

And so while the St. Michael’s boys are on a run, Capital’s boys are in a slump, the Santa Fe High boys are now second in district, the Monte del Sol boys are piecing things together, and the Pecos boys are having their usual surge towards another District 7-2A title.

On the girls side, the Demonettes are right up there in district, the Jaguars’ girls have dropped from the district race, the ATATC girls are still seeking a playoff berth, and both Robertson teams are still favored to win their respective districts.